A couple of dozen people who said they supported Quebec's failed secular charter — a proposed bill that would have imposed rules on head coverings in Quebec — ultimately showed up at the school. About 50 people from the anti-racism camp were there to denounce them.

"They were saying racist things about Muslims [on their Facebook page], and we had to come here and tell them that we refuse such speech in the Collège de Maisonneuve," said Collège de Maisonneuve student association spokesman Rafik Bentabbel.

Accusations of terrorism rang out among the anti-Islamization protesters, while speculation circulated wildly about what, exactly, Charkaoui was teaching at his school.

Charkaoui himself is a controversial figure. In the past, the Muslim-Montrealer had been detained by the Canadian government on a security certificate he later was successful in quashing.